Listen again to Salisbury Conversations

This March, the Cathedral partnered with BBC Wiltshire to tackle some of the big issues challenging society today. The result was The Salisbury Conversations 2019: Crossing Divides - three events in which high profile panellists like Tim Montgomerie (conservative blogger and columnist), Harun Khan (Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Great Britain) and Natalie Haynes (comedian and author of The Ancient Guide to Modern Life), discussed contemporary issues and try to find common ground.

Speaking about the Salisbury Conversations 2019, the Very Revd Nicholas Papadopulos, Dean of Salisbury Cathedral said:

"The purpose of these events is to encourage us all to think about our future and how we can shape it. At a time when society is fragmented, Salisbury Cathedral offers a place in which to hold difficult conversations. This is in our DNA, after all: we are the keepers of Magna Carta, the foundational document of constitutional liberty.

"Our firm belief is that respectful conversation in this sacred space will allow people to discover common ground – to appreciate better those things that unite them, and to understand better those things that divide them."

The conversations were recorded and transmitted on BBC Wiltshire the following day and can now be heard via BBC Sounds.

How Should We Talk To Each Other? Link here
With the recent Russian flag story demonstrating just how easy it is for an Instagram post to hijack the news agenda, this conversation explores how we talk to one another and exchange ideas about society, politics and our common future.
Panellists:
Sophia Gaston, social and political researcher, Director of the Centre for Social and Political Risk, and Deputy Director of the Henry Jackson Society.
Jim Waterson, former Political Editor of Buzzfeed and now Media Editor of the Guardian - the only media editor in the UK to have been a Cathedral verger.
Nazir Afzal OBE, lawyer and international expert on extremism and radicalisation, and member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation Complaints Committee.
The Very Revd Nicholas Papadopulos, Dean of Salisbury and former criminal barrister.
Facilitator:
Dan O’Brien, BBC Wiltshire’s political correspondent/reporter on the Sunday Politics show.

What Is A Good Life? Link here
What is a ‘good’ life? Is there such a thing as a social contract, or common purpose that governs society – or has the cult of the individual developed to the point where joint enterprise is impossible?
From the environment to personal morality, hear panellists including Natalie Haynes, who believes that answers may lie in Ancient Greece and Rome, Leo Johnson, city guru and presenter of 'Hacking Happiness' on Radio 4, Harun Khan, one of Britain’s leading Muslims, and the Bishop of Salisbury, Church of England’s lead on the environment and the spiritual leader of Salisbury Diocese, discuss these issues and try to find common ground.
Panellists:
Leo Johnson, city guru and business disrupter, and Radio 4 presenter.
Natalie Haynes, comedian, classicist and author of 'The Ancient Guide to Modern Life?'
Harun Khan, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Great Britain.
The Right Revd Nicholas Holtam, Bishop of Salisbury
Facilitator:
James Woodward, Principal of Sarum College

How Should We Be Governed? Link here
The Brexit referendum has divided the country and put the UK at odds with its European neighbours. The Labour party has split over the issue and fissures in the Tory party are all too evident. What should our government’s priorities be now? What is the alternative? Hear high profile panellists, including political activist, blogger and columnist Tim Montgomerie and Labour supporter and comedian Grianne Macguire discuss the issues at the heart of governance and try to find common ground.
Panellists:
Tim Montgomerie, political activist, blogger and columnist, best known as the co-founder of the Centre for Social Justice and creator of the Conservative Home website.
Grainne McGuire, Irish comedian and self-proclaimed political nerd, who tweeted her menstrual cycle to the Irish Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, as a protest against the Irish abortion laws.
Lemn Sissay MBE, poet, broadcaster and a campaigner for children in care. Lemn is the author of 'Magniloquent Cartilage', which is part of the 'Ladders of Light: a new constitution for the UK' installation currently on show in the Cathedral.
Professor Jane Green, Professor of Political Science and British Politics and a Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford.
Facilitator:
Elinor Goodman, former Political Editor of Channel 4 News.